Bulldogs Advance with 3-0 Win Over Wright State

Junior Areal Bienemy led the Bulldogs with 16 kills in a 3-0 victory over Wright State in the second round of the Horizon League tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs out-hit the fifth-seeded Raiders .223 to .065 in the 30-28, 30-16, 30-24 win. Butler, who improves to 20-11 overall on the season with the win, advances to face No. 1 seed UW-Milwaukee Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Junior Kali Carter, who was named to the All-Horizon League team Thursday night along with teammate Bienemy, posted 11 kills and 15 digs. Senior setter Amanda Matthews had 39 assists, but had her 14-match double-double streak halted, registering eight digs on the night.

The Bulldogs dominated the net, out-blocking the Raiders 11.5-3.5. No Raider was in double figures in kills, as Tricia Naseman and Eboni Kidd led the visitors with nine kills apiece. Naseman's 16 digs led Wright State.

Bienemy and Carter combined for 11 kills in the first game, as the Bulldogs held the Raiders to -.023 hitting. The duo would add nine kills in the second stanza. With a 15-10 advantage in the game, the Bulldogs would win 11 of the next 13 points to put the game out of reach. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 2-0 lead with their 30-16 decision.

Butler never trailed in the third game en route to a 30-24 win. Wright State actually out-hit the Bulldogs in the third game, .235 to .222, to pull their hitting percentage back into the black for the match.

Sophomore Megan Knightly led the Bulldogs with 17 digs, while Bienemy and freshman Krystal Hendrix each had five block assists. Freshman Alyssa Cress also posted double figures in digs with 12 on the evening.

The Bulldogs advance to face top-seeded UW-Milwaukee Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the semifinals. That match follows the tilt between No. 2 Loyola and No. 3 UW-Green Bay, which is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The first two rounds of the tournament saw four 3-0 decisions, a shocking contrast to the parity which the league has exhibited thus far this season. In the first round, Wright State defeated Youngstown State, 3-0, while Cleveland State downed UIC by a matching 3-0 margin. In addition to Butler's 3-0 win over the Raiders in the second round, UW-Green Bay knocked off Cleveland State in straight games. UW-Milwaukee and Loyola, as the tournament's top two seeds, do not see action until Saturday in the semifinals.